edibles on a busy street

When war broke out in Iraq last spring, I responded
by building a garden on a busy corner. The land was a city easement
bordering on a church parking lot. The church gave me permission, and when
I called the city, they seemed ok with it and simply suggested that I avoid tall
plants (for visibility) and that there be some plants that would give winter
interest. So, neighbours pitched in with building it, the municipal
compost system donated a truckload of compost, the local garden centre donated
some plants and my housemate painted a sign that said "peace garden". I
have been amazed at how respectful people have been of the space. And any
time any of us work out there there are lots of honks and waves. There has
also been a stories in the local paper and tv station.

Anyway, mostly we planned to make it ornamentals,
but a few edibles crept in, since this was not a carefully planned out
venture. Someone planted swiss chard, and it thrived there only a few
feet from the traffic. It actually was more attractive than some
of the flowers that didn't survive well in the drought conditions we got last
summer. A strawberry plant happened to come in with another
plant that someone donated. It is now spreading around its corner of the
garden. I ate both the chard and the strawberries, and i didn't get
sick.